The Farthest Edge
I spent about six hours last night, maybe more, writing up that response to Chazza. I finished it, but I think that I'm going to post it in two or three parts. It's eight pages long in Wordpad. That's a lot. I tried to leave no stone unturned. Sometimes, I'm too thorough for my own good. Also, when I post it (probably in two or three different chunks, because really, it's that long), I think that Chazza may never talk to me again. So anyway, remember how I said that I had contingent stuff to post in the mean time? Yep, that's what this post is. Read on.
* * *
On Tuesday, I mentioned prefabricated fallout shelters from Safecastle. As I've mentioned previously, I've developed a keen interest in eventually building a home made from recycled shipping containers. As I've researched this, I've found a handful of pictures of houses constructed from shipping containers, and a couple of companies that offer specially converted shipping containers for various purposes. I also found websites for two companies that sell these converted containers: Allied Container, and CMOUTS LLC. The United States military uses these structures, attached to one another to create bigger buildings. You can see a couple of pictures of them in these photos of the Marine Corps pre-deployment training evolution known as Exercise Mountain Viper. I also stumbled across a similar article about similar buildings at Fort Irwin, the Army's National Training Center. As recycled materials get bigger, and everyone continues to get a chubby for sustainable products, I wouldn't be surprised if shipping container housing gets to be a major trend. Come to think of it, wouldn't it be sweet to have a big plot of land out in the middle of nowhere, with a shipping container house and a below-ground emergency shelter? As I've mentioned previously, I'm not trying to be alarmist, I just find the whole concept to be fascinating.
* * *
A few weeks ago, I posted this article from a few months back. Going through my links, I found a couple of recent articles that pertain to the growing use of the lawless Sahara Desert by al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups. The first is a BBC article entitled Somalia - East Africa's New Afghanistan, and was published a couple of months ago after an American air strike killed a major al Qaeda terrorist. The second article, from the London Times, chronicles the rise of Pakistan, Algeria, and Somalia as new safe havens for al Qaeda, following their ouster from Afghanistan and their continuing collapse in Iraq.
I've mentioned this development earlier, when discussing a very worthwile read, Shadow War by Richard Miniter. The book was published prior to the 2004 election, but Miniter gives some excellent information on the subject of al Qaeda operations and affiliates in North Africa. If you get a chance, it's worth the read. As my original copy currently resides in [Hometown], I ordered a used copy on Amazon a while ago for just a few bucks. It also goes into detail regarding the possible connection between Osama bin Laden and Iran. Contrary to the confusion of some confused liberal pundits who tried to call Senator McCain out a few months ago based on a speech he'd given (in which he was right and they were wrong), Iran has lent its support not only to Shia groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Jaish al Mahdi Militia in Iraq; but also Sunni groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan/Pakistan, and Hamas in Gaza and Syria.
This is all to say that there are nefarious goings-on in the Maghreb, the articles are worth reading, and so is Miniter's book.
* * *
Continuing on yesterday's theme of academic laziness/dishonesty, another one jumped out at me today: the Second Amendment. It has always astonished me how anti-gun folks blatantly misinterpret history to suit their own political ideas. The fact of the matter is that the Second Amendment was made a part of the Constitution in order to give the American people a trump card over the government. The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches all have checks and balances over one another, but the Founding Fathers wanted the American citizen body to have a trump card over the entire government: the weapons necessary to deter the government from turning into a tyrannical dictatorship like the one they'd endured under King George.
The historical context of the "well-regulated militia" in the Second Amendment was never intended by the Founding Fathers to mean something like the National Guard, as anti-gun folks try to claim. The whole point of well-regulated militias was private ownership of weapons, augmented by affiliations of trained and organized men who were ready to defend their freedoms. And yet, for the encouragement of their own personal views, so many anti-gun advocates are willing to throw a completely anachronistic spin on the language and intent of the Founding Fathers. The same goes for the concept of the Supreme Court interpreting what the Founding Fathers meant in the Constitution, not figuring out what they think it should mean.
These are just two more examples of the anachronistic phenomena that drive me absolutely crazy. (As if I needed any help with that to begin with.)
* * *
Remember how I was busting on Bryan Adams a week or two ago? Well, he has a great song that I'd not heard until I saw it on YouTube, so that's your video of the day.
Also, some of you folks may remember that when I've been to Engaland in the past, I've thoroughly enjoyed a number of museums in and around Portsmouth. One of them is the oldest commissioned vessel in the world, HMS Victory. HMS Victory is best known as Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship from the Battle of Trafalgar. Speaking of Trafalgar, you can see it here, and read about it here. The Battle of Trafalgar was one of the most decisive and important victories in the histories of naval warfare. I was surprised, as I am from time to time, to find out that "Trafalgar" is actually a remnant of the days of Muslim domination of Spain: it's a congealing of several Arabic words (الطرف الأغرّ, "al Taraf al Ghar") that mean "the Farthest Edge". That's one more vocabulary flash card for yours truly, to go along with a bunch of stars that have Arabic names.
I think that I had some other stuff to post, but I'm sure that it can wait, and I honestly can't think of most of it right now. So... Happy Thursday!
On Tuesday, I mentioned prefabricated fallout shelters from Safecastle. As I've mentioned previously, I've developed a keen interest in eventually building a home made from recycled shipping containers. As I've researched this, I've found a handful of pictures of houses constructed from shipping containers, and a couple of companies that offer specially converted shipping containers for various purposes. I also found websites for two companies that sell these converted containers: Allied Container, and CMOUTS LLC. The United States military uses these structures, attached to one another to create bigger buildings. You can see a couple of pictures of them in these photos of the Marine Corps pre-deployment training evolution known as Exercise Mountain Viper. I also stumbled across a similar article about similar buildings at Fort Irwin, the Army's National Training Center. As recycled materials get bigger, and everyone continues to get a chubby for sustainable products, I wouldn't be surprised if shipping container housing gets to be a major trend. Come to think of it, wouldn't it be sweet to have a big plot of land out in the middle of nowhere, with a shipping container house and a below-ground emergency shelter? As I've mentioned previously, I'm not trying to be alarmist, I just find the whole concept to be fascinating.
A few weeks ago, I posted this article from a few months back. Going through my links, I found a couple of recent articles that pertain to the growing use of the lawless Sahara Desert by al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups. The first is a BBC article entitled Somalia - East Africa's New Afghanistan, and was published a couple of months ago after an American air strike killed a major al Qaeda terrorist. The second article, from the London Times, chronicles the rise of Pakistan, Algeria, and Somalia as new safe havens for al Qaeda, following their ouster from Afghanistan and their continuing collapse in Iraq.
I've mentioned this development earlier, when discussing a very worthwile read, Shadow War by Richard Miniter. The book was published prior to the 2004 election, but Miniter gives some excellent information on the subject of al Qaeda operations and affiliates in North Africa. If you get a chance, it's worth the read. As my original copy currently resides in [Hometown], I ordered a used copy on Amazon a while ago for just a few bucks. It also goes into detail regarding the possible connection between Osama bin Laden and Iran. Contrary to the confusion of some confused liberal pundits who tried to call Senator McCain out a few months ago based on a speech he'd given (in which he was right and they were wrong), Iran has lent its support not only to Shia groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Jaish al Mahdi Militia in Iraq; but also Sunni groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan/Pakistan, and Hamas in Gaza and Syria.
This is all to say that there are nefarious goings-on in the Maghreb, the articles are worth reading, and so is Miniter's book.
Continuing on yesterday's theme of academic laziness/dishonesty, another one jumped out at me today: the Second Amendment. It has always astonished me how anti-gun folks blatantly misinterpret history to suit their own political ideas. The fact of the matter is that the Second Amendment was made a part of the Constitution in order to give the American people a trump card over the government. The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches all have checks and balances over one another, but the Founding Fathers wanted the American citizen body to have a trump card over the entire government: the weapons necessary to deter the government from turning into a tyrannical dictatorship like the one they'd endured under King George.
The historical context of the "well-regulated militia" in the Second Amendment was never intended by the Founding Fathers to mean something like the National Guard, as anti-gun folks try to claim. The whole point of well-regulated militias was private ownership of weapons, augmented by affiliations of trained and organized men who were ready to defend their freedoms. And yet, for the encouragement of their own personal views, so many anti-gun advocates are willing to throw a completely anachronistic spin on the language and intent of the Founding Fathers. The same goes for the concept of the Supreme Court interpreting what the Founding Fathers meant in the Constitution, not figuring out what they think it should mean.
These are just two more examples of the anachronistic phenomena that drive me absolutely crazy. (As if I needed any help with that to begin with.)
Remember how I was busting on Bryan Adams a week or two ago? Well, he has a great song that I'd not heard until I saw it on YouTube, so that's your video of the day.
Also, some of you folks may remember that when I've been to Engaland in the past, I've thoroughly enjoyed a number of museums in and around Portsmouth. One of them is the oldest commissioned vessel in the world, HMS Victory. HMS Victory is best known as Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship from the Battle of Trafalgar. Speaking of Trafalgar, you can see it here, and read about it here. The Battle of Trafalgar was one of the most decisive and important victories in the histories of naval warfare. I was surprised, as I am from time to time, to find out that "Trafalgar" is actually a remnant of the days of Muslim domination of Spain: it's a congealing of several Arabic words (الطرف الأغرّ, "al Taraf al Ghar") that mean "the Farthest Edge". That's one more vocabulary flash card for yours truly, to go along with a bunch of stars that have Arabic names.
I think that I had some other stuff to post, but I'm sure that it can wait, and I honestly can't think of most of it right now. So... Happy Thursday!
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